Two weeks after James Meza announced his resignation as Jefferson Parish public schools superintendent, one of his top executives also is preparing to exit. Jacob Landry, the school system's chief strategy officer, is resigning Aug. 1.

That's two months before Meza's scheduled Sept. 30 departure. Landry said his move is unrelated to Meza's announcement.

He hopes to open his own business -- a brewery, based in New Orleans. "It's something that I had been planning, and had been really deliberate about, for a while," Landry said.

In his three years with the school system, Landry, 30, worked to build Jefferson's first charter authorization and oversight process. He also recommended strategies for school closure and worked to overhaul communications efforts, among other accomplishments.